Nine books of physick and chirurgery written by that great and learned physitian, Dr Sennertus. The first five being his Institutions of the whole body of physick: the other four of fevers and agues: with their differences, signs, and cures.

CHAP. IV. Of the causes of the Symptomes of the internal senses.

OVer much watching is occasioned by too much ef∣fusion of the animal spirits, * 1.1 to the Organs of the senses: through defect of restraint of the first sense, and too much irritation of the common sense, the bond of the first sense, or sweet exhalations are defective, either because they are not generated in the body, which comes to pass by long fasting, or the use of meats, which do not produce such exhalations, or because they are consumed, scattered, and called away from the brain, which comes to pass in a hot and dry distemper, either of the whole body, or of the brain, and when hot humors and vapors are elevated in the brain, which often happens in Fevers and Delitiums.

The same causes also, for the most part have a power of stirring up the common sense, and besides those, princi∣pally grief, which in what part of the body soever it is, when it violently affects the sense of touching; it also stirs up the common sense, which once moved irritates also the rest of the senses, and so it is necessary that over much watchfulness must ensue. * 1.2

The causes of too much sleep, and first the cau••es of non-natural, are all those things that hinder the spirits from being sent forth to the external parts, * 1.3 in due man∣ner and season; such are those which dissipate and con∣su••ne the heat of the spirits beyond measure, or they are called back too much into the internal parts, or hinder the spirits that they cannot go out to the remote parts, as too much exercise, paines taking, too much watching, baths, and such like, which fill the braine with halituous vapours.

Moreover the causes of a preter-natural and diseased sleep so called, are also against nature; namely, * 1.4 those things which detaine the spirits against nature, so that they cannot freely passe to the Organs of the senses.

The cause of a Coma, * 1.5 or a dead sleep is a plentiful vapor, whether cold and moist, or hot and moist, either

generated in the brain, or sent thither out of the whole body, or part of it; but principally stupifactive, ren∣dring the animal spirits heavy and drowsie.

When there is too greedy desire of sleep, * 1.6 the same stu∣pifactive vapor is the cause, but because hot and sharp vapours are mingled with it, and many various and ab∣surd imaginations are brought to the fancy, the sleep is troubled and interrupted.

The causes of immoderate dreams are impure vapours, * 1.7 black and melancholy, arising from food and humors, causing exhalations of the same nature, and stirring up the animal spirits, or a distemper of the brain, stirring the vapors ascending from the inferiour parts and spirits in the brain.

A natural extasie hath for the most part the same cau∣ses, * 1.8 for those which are troubled therewith, have in their deep sleep various shapes and images represented to their fantafie, about which, the imagination being too much busied and fixed, the rest of the senses ceasing: when they awake they account those dreams by reason of the too much intentiveness of the fantasie for truths; and think and say to themselves that those things did really hap∣pen.

The cause of such as walk in their sleep, * 1.9 is a stronger imagination from an internal object, represented by a dream, the fantasie being violently affected, stimulates the desire, and thence the motive faculty, to perform something; the senses for the most part being bound, and the rational faculty obscured, but the imagination doth depend either on some vehement diurnal disease, which hath gone before, or on the disposition of the spi∣rits, which the vapours thicken, which are not onely mingled with the spirits, but also have force of binding all the spirits, and set before you many cleare dreames.

The memory, * 1.10 as the imagination, is either abolished, or diminished, principally through the fault of the in∣strument, which is the brain: through its too cool a di∣stemper thereof, whereunto belongs, not onely innate heat, but default of spirits: the default of innate heat is either native, and contracted from our birth, or happen∣ing afterwards from our birth. Heat is deficient to those who have too great heads, or a brain weak, and cold by

nature, and mixt with too much moisture, or a head too little, and therefore little brains, or a figure, too concise, the figure also it self of the head, may hinder these acti∣ons. After a mans birth the native heat is deficient through old age, and what other causes soever, which may destroy and debilitate the innate heat, and may cause foul spirits, whether they be internal, and diseases and vitious humors, or external, as cold meat, moist, thick, corrupt and impure air, over-much watching, stroaks and wounds of the head. Besides the defect and cold distemper of the native heat, the memory also is weakned, yea and taken away, sometimes by too much moisture of the brain; the same also is hurt sometimes by external error, namely through the fault of objects, whilest in certain diseases it is confounded, and distra∣cted, by almost innumerable objects, which may likewise happen to such as are well; who whilest they are busied in telling any story, by reason of some object happening by chance, they are so called aside, that they cannot make an end of their story.

But the reasonable faculty is not diminished nor abo∣lished of its self, nor by reason of its instrument, but because the fantasie is hurt, and sometimes the memory, and sometimes both.

The depravation of the imagination and ratiocinati∣nation happens in divers kinds of Deliriums, and all have their rise from some default of the animal spirits, which being ill disposed, represent objects so disposed to the fantasie, and whereas for the most part, the imagina∣tion, and ratiocination are both affected in a Delirium; and the imagination useth a corporeal Organ with its Spirits, but the rati••••ination useth none, but onely be∣holdeth fantasms. In every Delirium, the next cause of the hurt of the imagination, is the vitiousnesse of the a∣nimal spirits, but the depravation of the rational fa∣culty is caused by the fantasms.

The imagination and understanding hurt, called Para∣phrosune hath its beginning from hot vapours, which in burning F••ve s and inflammations of the interiour parts are elevated to the brain, and disturb the animal spirits, yet moderately, which thing also may happen if any one should take in his meat or drink that which may trou∣ble the spirits. On this manner commeth sottishness, and

such as is caused by Wine, the weed Darnel, Hops, and such like.

A Frensie is caused by a hot Tumor of the Brain and its Membranes from whence the hot vapours being ad∣vanced continually trouble and stir the spirits in the brain. * 1.11

The cause of offending the imagination in Melancho∣ly, * 1.12 is dark animal spirits, but the causes of depraving of the rational faculty, are dusky fantasms, but the ani∣mal spirits are become dark and black two ways; first when the spirits themselves are pure in their own nature; but some strange foul and blackish matter is mingled with them. Secondly, when the spirits themselves are darkish in their own nature, and gene••ate such; the for∣mer is caused three wayes; the first is when the matter dark and impure clouding the spirits is contained in the vessels in the head. Secondly, when the matter is com∣municated to the brain from the whole body, and princi∣pally from the greater veins. Thirdly, when it is trans∣mitted principally from the Hypocondries, which is thence named Hypocondriacal Melancholy: the latter is occasioned two wayes, either when the vital spirits are generated vitious and impure in the heart, which when the matter of the animal spirit is such in the braine, 'tis necessary that there be generated in such black animal spirits in the braine, or because although the vital spirit be good and pure; neverthelesle the constitution of the brain is vitious, which changeth the pure vital spirit in∣to a black animal spirit.

The cause of mad Love is sorrow and conti nual soli∣tation, * 1.13 to which anger is often joined, arising through the desire of a fair thing whether it be really so, or seem so to be; for although the amorous herb Philtra may stir up desire to lust, yet that desire is not terminated in any definite person, nor can the mind of a man be com∣pelled to love that which he is unwilling to love, and that Philtra doth not cause love, but madnesse also, as ex∣perience often teacheth.

The cause of madness is a hot and fiery disposition of the animal spirits; * 1.14 such hot and fiery spirits proceed from a hot distemper of the braine, or hot vapours mingled therewith, which black Choller will set foreward, some∣times in the veins of the head only, other times in the

whole body, especially in those that are great with child, and when it resides about the womb, whether they are ge∣nerated of fervent blood, or adust colour, or dryed Melan∣choly.

The disease which causeth men to think that they are turned into Wolves, is called Lycanthropie, * 1.15 if it proceed from a natural cause; and not from the Devil; It ari∣seth from the depravation of the imagination and ratio∣cination, and the blood of living creatures being drunk, may be very powerful to cause the same, yet for the most part it becomes from poyson communicated to us by the biting of any mad living creature, or by the froth of their mouths thrown upon us, by spittle, by receiving their breath with our mouths, by eating the flesh of rave∣nous animals, whence Wolf-madness, also Dog∣madness, and Badger-madness do arise, as Hydrophobie, which is when one is distractedly timerous of waters, which neverthelesse may be occasioned without the biting of any mad animal by poyson in mans body, but prin∣cipally is occasioned by terror of the observations of Phy∣sitians do witness, and then the disease is not to be re∣ferred to madness, because those Symptomes which are proper to those that are bitten with mad creatures, do not appear in these, but onely the di••eased are adverse to all liquid things, and neither can swallow liquid things, but also at the sight and noise of them, they fall in dan∣ger of swooning and death, which nature is peculiar to this poyson, nor can any other cause be rendered from manifest qualities.

But the disease of Tarantators, * 1.16 occasioned by the ve∣nemous biting of a Tarantula, and the Chorea of S. Viti. so called, hath its rise from a venemous and malignant humour somewhat like to the venom of a Ta••antula, be∣gotten in mans body, and indeed is the cause of the Symp∣tomes of the rest of the poysons in general, but because they dance in this manner, that is proper to this poyson onely, neither can there be rendered any manifest cause thereof, but here it is necessary to fly to that sanctuary of ignorance; and to say that this poyson is destroyed in an occu•••• manner by the force of musick, and this little crea∣ture is harmoneous, and delights in musick.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Causes of too much watching.
• * 1.2

  Cause of too much sleep.
• * 1.3

  Non-na∣tural.
• * 1.4

  Preter∣natural.
• * 1.5

  Coma and Cataphora.
• * 1.6

  Coma vigil.
• * 1.7

  Of immo∣derate dreams.
• * 1.8

  Of an ex∣tasic.
• * 1.9

  Sleep walkers.
• * 1.10

  Abolish∣ing and diminish∣ing of the mentory & fantasie.
• * 1.11

  A Frenzy.
• * 1.12

  Of Melan∣choly.
• * 1.13

  Of mad Love.
• * 1.14

  Madnss••e.
• * 1.15

  Lycan∣thropie.
• * 1.16

  Of Taran∣tulas and a company of S. Viti.